Policy and Resources Committee Meeting

DRAFT minutes, subject to approval

A meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee was held on Wednesday, March 3^rd , 2021, following the planning committee meeting at 8.10pm, online via Zoom videoconferencing.

1).   Present were:-

Councillor P. Jones (Chair)                         Councillor L. Dale

Councillor J. Jones                                            Councillor C. Wilkins

Councillor. G. Dale                                     Councillor R. Taylor

Councillor S. Perren

Mrs S. J. Worden

No members of the Public

Cllr. A. Reid (observer)

Apologies:- Apologies were received from Cllr. Amos.

2).   Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday January 6^th 2021:-

The minutes, which had previously been noted by the Council were agreed and will be signed at the earliest opportunity.

3).   Matters arising from the minutes:-

There were no matters arising.

4).   Budget update 2020/21 and to consider and approve virements:-

Prior to the meeting, the Clerk circulated updated reports detailing expenditure to date against the budget up to and including 17^th February 2021. This was reviewed and accepted by the committee. No unexpected expenditure since the last update was noted.  The following virements were considered and the committee resolved to recommend approval:

• £2090 from Projects (4600) to Croxton Play area (4360), for new swings.
• £2,700 from Police Post loan (4613) to Grants (4240) for Eccleshall Cares grant and part of Community band grant
• £100 from contingencies (4998) to Grants (4240) for Community Band grant balance.
• £1,150 from watering (4380) to Grass Cutting (4370) to cover additional works undertaken

5).   To review the budget for 2021/22 based on updated expenditure, note any amendments and approve the proposed earmarking:

Committee members reviewed the updated budget. The budget for 2021/22 remains at £105,954.00, with some minor adjustments within individual cost centres to reflect known cost of upcoming contracts such as the grounds maintenance and to encompass the additional verge works. The committee resolved to recommend approval of the updated budget.

The committee resolved to recommend the following funds to be added to the earmarked reserves, to ensure funds are in place for unplanned maintenance, replenish monies spent and to build up planned occasional expenditure such as cost of elections every 4 years.

Additional funds to add to earmarked reserves:-

• £1,000 – to Community Centre (unspent budget)
• £2,650 – to Croxton Play Area (general reserves)
• £1,000 – to Highways maintenance work (from general reserves)
• £500 – to Allotments (from rents)
• £660 – Elections (from accumulated budget reserves)
• £1,400– to IT reserves (unspent budget)
• £2,000 – Beech Road/Youth Projects (from general reserves)

6).   To receive the CCLA investment update.

Members received and noted the CCLA investment update which outlines the reduction in investment returns due to the current economic climate and the additional email detailing a contingency plan of  temporarily swapping to a fund with no return on investment if needed to protect client monies.

7).   To provide an update on the Assistant Clerk recruitment and to consider costs for provision of IT equipment.

The staffing committee met on the 1^st March and has shortlisted 4 candidates for interview. Interviews will be held on Thursday 11^th March.

The Clerk provided costs for provision of IT equipment for the Clerk, based on information provided by the Parish Council’s IT contractor. Costs were provided for desktop and laptop options. To enable file and folder sharing between Clerk and assistant Clerk, it was advised to upgrade the current Office 365 subscription from £7.90 a month to £9.40 a month per user. This would also provide mailboxes for Parish Council emails. Additional costs will be £30 for antivirus software and ££170 for full set up and installation for the new Clerk. The monthly maintenance contract fee will remain unchanged.

It was resolved to recommend:

• Purchase of a laptop – estimated cost at time of quotation was £575 plus VAT. Panda antivirus would be needed at a cost of £30 a year.
• Microsoft licence would be upgraded to 365 standard, at £9.40 per user a month to allow for file sharing
• Japhlin to set up the system for the new Assistant Clerk.

Cost for a printer will be obtained once we have more information on what the new assistant can accommodate.

8).   To consider the structure and content of the Annual Public Parish Meeting and viability for 2021:-

It was resolved to recommend that in order to meet statutory requirements, a simple public meeting will be held via Zoom on the 28^th April with a plan to hold a more comprehensive meeting later in the year when it can be held at the Community Centre, which will provide a better experience and hope to promote engagement.

9).   To provide an update on the Communications Policy:-

This is ongoing and the Clerk will feed back at the next meeting.

10).   Consideration of Grant Requests:-

There were no requests to consider.

11).  Items for next meeting:-

Any items for the next meeting can be forwarded to the Clerk.

12).  Date of next meeting:-

Wednesday 9^th June 2021, following the planning committee  meeting.

There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.30pm.